- Drake has had plenty of controversial moments during his career.
- They include having a secret child and fighting with Chris Brown at a nightclub.
- Below, Insider breaks down the rapper's biggest controversies.
Lawsuits over samples
Drake has been sued on multiple occasions for allegedly not clearing samples before using them in his songs.
In 2012, his purported ex-girlfriend and singer Ericka Lee filed a lawsuit against him for using her voice on "Marvins Room", claiming she was owed songwriting credits and royalties. The matter was resolved in 2013, with both parties agreeing to an out-of-court settlement.
Earlier this year, Ghanaian rapper Obrafour filed a copyright lawsuit against Drake claiming he used an unauthorized sample on his track "Calling My Name." Obrafour is seeking at least $10 million in damages.
A secret child
In 2017, retired porn star Sophie Brussaux claimed to TMZ that Drake was the father of her son, Adonis.
Her claim was privately confirmed following a paternity test, but Drake decided to keep the news to himself.
Fellow rapper Pusha T then told the world Drake's secret on his 2018 diss track, "The Story Of Adidon."
"You are hiding a child, let that boy come home," rapped Pusha.
Drake continued to remain silent about Adonis until he released his 2018 album, "Scorpion," on which he came clean.
The track "March 14" is about the moment he received the news that Adonis was his son, while on "Emotionless," he sings: "I wasn't hidin' my kid from the world / I was hidin' the world from my kid."
Boisterous bouncers
Drake's security detail has a long history of being linked to violent altercations.
In 2014, Detail, one of Drake's collaborators, sued the rapper, claiming he lured him to his mansion and had his head of security, Chubbs, punch him and break his jaw.
One of Drake's security guards also allegedly roughed up singer Shawn Mendes in 2017, while another is said to have punched a man in the face at a nightclub in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2010.
Read Insider's full report detailing the trend of violence surrounding Drake's security detail.
Some Kimye drama
Drake found himself in the middle of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's messy marriage in 2018 when rumors began swirling that Kim had an affair with the Canadian rapper.
Though Kim has continually denied the rumors, Drake kept adding fuel to the fire.
Shortly after Kim filed for divorce from Ye in 2021, Drake released his hit song "Wants and Needs," in which he dropped a possible hint about a secret fling with Kardashian.
Then, in December 2022, after Ye had accused Kim of having an affair with Phoenix Suns basketball player Chris Paul, Drake took to social media to post an image of himself alongside Paul.
In April 2023, Drake's released a song titled "Rescue Me," which included an audio sample of Kim talking about divorcing Ye.
"Every Girl" doesn't please everyone
"I wish I could fuck every girl in the world," goes the chorus to Drake and Young Money's 2009 song "Every Girl."
While performing the song at the 2009 BET Awards, the group invited a number of young girls onto the stage, including Lil Wayne's 9-year-old daughter Reginae.
"That was a terrible idea that I'll never do to myself again," Drake said after. "It was just timed very poorly and it definitely wasn't planned like that."
"To anyone who was offended, my personal apologies, it wasn't intended to offend anybody," he added.
A sexual assault settlement
In November 2018, Drake settled a lawsuit with Laquana Morris, also known as Layla Lace, who previously accused him of sexually assaulting her during the British leg of his Boy Meets World tour in 2017.
According to The Independent, Drake admitted to having consensual sex with Morris, but refuted her sexual assault claims and filed against her for civil extortion, fraud, emotional distress, abuse of process and defamation.
Laquana avoided going to trial by agreeing to a stipulated judgment which prohibited her from repeating past statements she made against Drake, according to The Independent.
It was later revealed in 2019 that Drake paid a $350,000 settlement in the case.
Temple trouble
The video for Drake's 2012 song "HYFR (Hell Ya Fucking Right)" was shot at a Jewish temple in Miami, where Drake takes part in a fake bar mitzvah.
Ben Kuehne, the president of the temple, was less than impressed.
"Temple Israel does not adopt, condone, or sponsor any aspect of the Drake video and was not involved in its production," Kuehne said.
An alleged altercation with Chris Brown
In June 2012, Drake allegedly got into an altercation with singer Chris Brown at a New York City nightclub.
At the time, Drake had been connected to Rihanna, Brown's ex-girlfriend whom he had been convicted of battering three years earlier. According to the New York Daily News, the fight broke out when Brown sent Drake a bottle of champagne as a peace offering, and Drake sent it back with a note that said, "I'm still fucking Rihanna."
The two stars' entourages allegedly threw bottles and glasses at each other and Brown suffered a nasty gash to his chin.
Ghost writing allegations
In 2015, Meek Mill accused Drake of using Quentin Miller as a ghost writer for his guest verse on "R.I.C.O." from Mill's album "Dreams Worth More Than Money."
A ghost writer is a person whose job it is to write material for someone else who is the named artist. The use of one is highly frowned upon in the hip-hop industry.
Responding the Mill, Drake said, according to NME: "I need, sometimes, individuals to spark an idea so that I can take off running. Music at times can be a collaborative process."
Miller, who has writing credits on Drakes 2015 mixtape "If You're Reading This It's Too Late," wasn't credited as a writer on "R.I.C.O.," but in a Tumblr post, he wrote: "I am not and never will be a 'ghostwriter' for drake."
Earlier this year, Miller revealed he never got paid for his work on "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" because he was tied up in a publishing deal with Grammy-winning producer Tricky Stewart at the time.
A nightclub nuisance
In March 2012, after a show in Oklahoma City, Drake and his entourage rolled to a club called Dollhouse Lounge for a paid appearance.
Shortly after their arrival, however, the club was reportedly shut down because members of his entourage were smoking weed, according to TMZ.
The club owner asked Drake's camp to pay him for causing problems that night. Drake's reps did not reply to TMZ's request for comment at the time.
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